Your guides will meet you at the Toulouse airport and give you a brief tour of the city before driving you to your accommodations near Cahors.

Your B&B near Cahors

Cahors, Pont Valentré

Carving near St-Cirq-la-Popie

Rocamadour black Madonna

Figeac's "Rosetta stone"

Beynac

Sarlat, Place du marché aux Oies

Tasting Dordogne food!

Gabarres at La Roque-Gageac

Josephine Baker Memorial

Château de Losse

Welcome apéritif and orientation.

Morning

The Dordogne is dotted with prehistoric caves, many with paintings and carvings that inform us about the inhabitants of the area over 10,000 years ago. This morning we visit Pech-Merle, one of the most important and most fascinating caves. Later we will stop to visit the village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. Perched atop a rocky escarpment high above the Lot River, the village is remarkable for its setting alone. After lunch, as the group wants, we can walk down to the Lot River.

Afternoon

Return to Cahors for free time to explore the medieval heart of this town, once a flourishing university and commercial center.

Morning

Drive to Figeac for a visit of this bustling market center whose roots go back to the early Middle Ages, when it was a trading center and a way stop for pilgrims en route to Compestela.

Guided tour of Rocamadour, one of the most extraordinary sites in France. Its castle, mass of buildings and towers cling precipitously to steep cliffs high above a deep canyon. In the Middle Ages it was, like Figeac, an important way station for pilgrims walking to Compostela.

Afternoon

Drive to the village of Martel for a brief visit to see classic examples of 14th, 15th, and 16th century buildings. Called the "town of seven towers," Martel is also known as a market center for regional specialties, including walnuts and gourmet products.

Morning

We will begin our day with a guided tour of Sarlat to discover its wealth of vestiges from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. One of the rare sites in France to remain intact since the 17th century, Sarlat still feels like a true medieval town, but it is today a vibrant market for regional specialties and an active business center of the region. The town is fascinating to explore any time, but especially on Saturday morning, when it hosts one of the most colorful and complete markets in the Dordogne

Free time to explore independently.

Afternoon

We will explore other villages in the area: St-Geniès, with its Romanesque church and Gothic chapel; St-Amand-de-Coly, known for its abbey church, considered one of the most beautiful in the world; and the lovely farm château of La Grande Filolie.

Morning

This will be our opportunity to discover the most famous prehistoric cave paintings of the Dordogne, starting with an informational tour of Lascaux II, a nearly exact facsimile of the original Lascaux cave. Here we will find a wealth of fine quality, prehistoric paintings that offer keys to understanding the life of the region's inhabitants 10,00 - 20,000 years ago. After visiting the cave, we will stop briefly in the nearby village of Montignac.

Possible picnic at Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère or La Roque Saint-Christophe.

Afternoon

Drive to Les Eyzies-de-Tayac to visit Font-de-Gaume, a prehistoric cave with the most beautiful collection of polychrome cave paintings still open to the public. Les Eyzies' Musée National de la Préhistoire (National Museum of Prehistory) also houses one of the finest collection of prehistoric objects and works of art.

Late Afternoon

Free time in Les Eyzies. Some will want to visit the prehistory museum . Even those who are not dedicated pre-history buffs may enjoy the superb view from the museum's terrace, overlooking the town and the surrounding valleys of Vézère and Beune. Others may choose to visit the Abri Pataud (Pataud Shelter), which contains vestiges of civilizations as far back as 3500 BCE.

Morning

Skipping from 3500 BCE to the 12th century of the common era, this morning we will explore the castle and village of Beynac-et-Cazenac, overlooking the valley of the Dordogne far below. Originally the castle was built to defend the area when it marked the frontier between French and English territory.

We may take a boat trip on the Dordogne River in a traditional "gabarre." at La Roque-Gageac.

Afternoon

A short drive will take us to he beautiful hilltop village of Domme, with its exceptional views and fine architecture. We will have free time to stroll around the town and possibly take a short walk in the surrounding countryside.

The American singer-dancer of the 1920s and 30s, Josephine Baker, bought the château of les Milandes ta serve as home for the children she adopted of different races, religions and nationalities to create her "world village." We will visit her château, where each room relates stories of the life of this singular woman, through objects, photographs, short films and recordings.

We will end the day with a visit of the Gardens of Eyrignac, ranked among the most beautiful garden sites in France. First designed in Italian-French style in the 18th century, these gardens have been restored to their original elegance.

Morning

On our way to Bordeaux we will stop in Bergerac on the banks of the Dordogne.

Afternoon

Saint-Emilion, a vineyard village in the hills above the Dordogne, is one of the most beautiful sites in France, and one of the most interesting. Known for its wine since the Romans first planted vineyards there in the 2nd century, Saint-Emilion later became a commercial wine production center thanks to the diligent work of medieval monks. You will delight in discovering the town's golden limestone buildings that cover a network of underground galleries.

Evenning

Walk around central Bordeaux. Dinner

Morning

"Au revoir." Tour ends after breakfast.
Our guides will drive you to the train station in Bordeaux, where you can take the train to Paris or to your next destination.